MOSCOW, Idaho – Savannah Bettis
could catch glimpses of Oregon State’s Aya Fujimura throughout the 200
butterfly and she could think of just one thing: she wasn’t going to lose.

She didn’t and in so doing Bettis,
a University of Idaho senior swimmer, broke an Idaho record, swam a personal
best by nearly 3½ seconds, and helped the Vandals emerge with a 147-147 tie
with the Pac 12 Beavers in Idaho’s first home meet of the season before a
raucous crowd at the UI Swim Center.

“I saw her and I knew I wanted to
beat her,” said Bettis, who graduated from Redondo Beach, Calif., High School. “I
didn’t want to lose. I knew it was fast but I didn’t know how fast. … I had no
idea.”

“It’s amazing to see what happens
when you’re just competing,” said Sowa, whose swimmers and divers won six of
the 14 individual races and one of the two relays. “It’s great to see how far
we’ve come.”

Freshman Rachel Millet of Spokane
continued her winning ways with victories in the 50, 100 and 200 free as well
as a leg of the winning 200 medley relay. Junior Paige Hunt (Mesa, Ariz.)
underscored the importance of the diving unit with victories in each event. Her
291.85 in the three-meter event was just .58 of a point off the school record
she set just last week.

The Vandals opened an early lead
in the meet and held a 145-132 edge going into the final race – the always
competitive 400 free relay. Oregon State took first in decisive fashion but
nabbed the event-tying second-place finish by just out-touching the Vandals on
the final pad. Sowa gave a nod to Oregon State for its ability to take the top
to place in the final event and secure the tie.

“We knew we had to try to win one
of the relays,” Sowa said. “We did our darnedest. We have nothing to hang our
heads about.”

Bettis said a buoyant attitude
carried the Vandals throughout the meet.

“There was just a lot of
positivity,” she said. “Our team really clicked. It feels good to be
competitive against a Pac 12 team.”